May of 2016 was a fast month up here on The Hill. I'll get right into it!
We
welcomed the arrival of Bernie and said farewell to Jay. Jay has been growing
steadily in his discipleship and moved forward just a few days ago. Bernie has
been experiencing the good conflict of discovering who Christ is, what the
Gospel is, and his identity in Christ made possible through the power of the
Gospel! We have also witnessed continued growth in Joel and John as they continue
in their discipleship journeys serving the men in ministry leadership. Stephen
has continued to sharpen his leadership roles within both DISCOVER LIFE and
Huntersfield Christian Training Center. Please pray for the men as they
continue on their individual journeys. Please pray for their protection, but
also for the intrusion of the Holy Spirit; that darkness would be confronted
with light and that lies would be confronted with the truth.
We were also privileged to enjoy the ministry gifts of Bob
Hudson, leader of the Cross Ministry Group. We are excited to see the men of DISCOVER LIFE develop their ability to effectively communicate and express themselves, discovering for themselves their own ability to both be honest in
their approach to others and receptive of the approaches of others. The most
dangerous lies we believe are the ones we tell ourselves. One of the core
beliefs of DISCOVER LIFE is that “people do what they do because they believe
what they believe.” Therefore, if we want to see our actions truly change, we
must change our beliefs. We must discover where we have believed lies and
change our minds about them accepting the truth. Then we will know the freedom
that Christ so richly purchased. The Cross Ministry Group approaches that
directly. For more information, CLICK HERE.
We look with great anticipation to June of 2016!!!
We will be celebrating the marriage of Stephen Conti to Naomi
Gockel on June 11th! This has been a wonderful relationship to see
come together. The marriage union is one of the only institutions of God and
seeing a couple obey Him in the process is truly a blessing.
We will be enjoying the teaching ministry of Larry Poston, a professor from Nyack College. Larry is extremely gifted in communicating important Biblical truths in a manner that is very relevant without diluting the message or the mission. For more information, CLICK HERE! For a previous teaching seminar of Larry Poston, CLICK HERE!
The week following the wedding will be our big construction
week! Carpenters For Christ has offered to come and take on the task of framing
our new residence for the men: Our Father’s House. We have been working
diligently in demolition and debris removal to prepare the house for this week.
This residency is going to free up room for 12 more beds and provide a more
adequate residential option for the men who come here for ministry to find rest
for their souls. The men of DISCOVER LIFE have outgrown their current
residence, the Hope House. This is a much-needed improvement. Our total budget for the renovation is $96,800.00 and we need your help in raising it. For more information for this
project, please take a minute to look at our PROPOSAL. We encourage you to
share it with you church, ministry, and friends. Please consider helping us as
we help others!!
Prayer Requests!
If you would be so inclined, please consider our NEEDS LIST and pray as you spend time remembering us before the Lord.
LESSON FROM THE SAWMILL: The Evidence Makes It Obvious
One of the unique advantages of DISCOVER LIFE being housed
at the HCTC is the ability for the men to learn life-lessons working the grounds, farm and sawmill in real time through immediate consequences for decisions made, whether bad or good. If we
don’t feed the cows, they will find food to our detriment. If we hide from preparatory
work, we are overwhelmed with consequential repairs. If we use equipment
correctly, we are efficient in our labors. If we use it incorrectly, we waste
much needed time in both repeating and repairing was well as replacing
prematurely warn parts. We even experience avoidable injury. The consequences
here are real and they are great substance for revealing deeply masked truths
in the lives of the men.
A few days ago, we were in the barn feeding the cows when
one of the men said “uh oh, that’s not supposed to be there.” I came over to
see what he was looking at and said, “Looks like the cows are out.” He
responded with a short “yep.”
What’s the point??
We didn’t have to see the cows out. We only had to see the
fresh manure on the ground. We didn’t have to start a huge discussion on the
merits of who would decide whether the cows were out or any such thing. The
evidence made it obvious. You see, the cows cannot get into that area of the
barn unless they have broken through the fence. It’s that simple, and the same
is with us!
Remember Samuel’s question to Saul after Saul disobeyed God
concerning His directives in handling the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). Saul moves
very quickly to assure Samuel of his obedience and victory as an obvious
smokescreen to mask his disobedience. Samuel doesn’t allow himself to be
engaged in a debate with Saul concerning the merits of his victory because the
evidence made it obvious. As Saul begins to brag, Samuel asks a simple
question:
1Samuel 15:14 But Samuel said, "What then is this
bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I
hear?"
Samuel needed nothing else to know Saul had disobeyed … and
Saul’s obvious attempt to patronize him fell terribly short. Saul was caught …
and this is us in a nut.
We spend so much energy trying to both cover our mistakes
and prove our successes forgetting that God has promised us that both will show
themselves clearly.
Matthew 12:33,35 "Either make the tree good and its fruit
good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its
fruit. 35 A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil
treasure brings forth evil things.
So what do we do then? Well it’s simple. If we are attempting
to cover our sin then just stop. The initial step to getting out of the hole we
are digging ourselves in is to STOP DIGGING. If we have the sense to recognize
that we are doing wrong, then the Holy Spirit is at work so we need to respond
properly because the evidence makes it obvious! We need to confess and repent!
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 Corinthians
7:10 For godly sorrow produces
repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted …
On the other hand, if we are busy trying to prove our
successes, then we need relax and just enjoy our relationship with Him and let
the natural process of being in His presence produce the fruit. The evidence
makes it obvious.
Remember:
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat
of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in
the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers
of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not
wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
We have nothing to say that our fruit does not make clear!
We just need to be focused on being properly planted.
That’s my take anyways, thanks for reading!!!
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